oppositionvsoppositionsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“opposition” and “oppositions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,368
“opposition” frequency rank
#17,498
“oppositions” frequency rank
18866
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature opposition oppositions
Definition Contraste dû à la comparaison de deux choses jugées particulièrement différentes, qui s’opposent. Pluriel de opposition.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set opposition and oppositions apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
opposition
11 ch
oppositions

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. opposition and oppositions are pronounced identically (\ɔ.po.zi.sjɔ̃\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “opposition” sits inside “oppositions”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18866, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

opposition is recorded at frequency rank #1,368, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɔ.po.zi.sjɔ̃\. oppositions is at rank #17,498, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɔ.po.zi.sjɔ̃\.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 18866, this pair ranks #376,197 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of opposition vs oppositions

Shared letters: inopst. Private to "opposition": -. Private to "oppositions": -.

"opposition" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVC  ·  "oppositions" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • oppositionopopsition · oposition · oppoistion · opposiiton · oppositino · oppositionn · oppositoin · opposittion
  • oppositionsopopsitions · opositions · oppoistions · opposiitons · oppositinos · oppositionns · oppositionss · oppositiosn

Frequency comparison

opposition#1,368
oppositions#17,498

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "opposition" and "oppositions" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\ɔ.po.zi.sjɔ̃\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "opposition" or "oppositions"?
"opposition" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,368 in our French list, against #17,498 for "oppositions". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering opposition vs oppositions

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “opposition” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list